Narcotics: Where Do We Stand?

In the state of California, 115 out of every 100,000 residents in incarcerated due to drug offenses, that’s the highest in the nation.  Those are staggering numbers, especially when you factor in California’s drug laws being pretty relaxed.  California has legalized medical marijuana, and is actually at odds with the federal government over drug issues. 

How do we handle this problem?  For a while, it was the “in” thing to bomb Colombia, until all the drugs started coming from Mexico.  Drugs are a serious problem throughout the United States, and throwing people in jail may not be the best response.  It was reported that the nation and even individual states could save hundreds of millions of dollars by investing in better drug and alcohol counseling programs.

However, there is a major problem with this: how can politicians claim to be tough on crime when they aren’t throwing people in jail?  In politics, families are often used as protective shields to policy criticism.  If someone were to speak out and say “our drug enforcement policies aren’t adequate” the powers that be would call that person ”anti-family” or “willing to put our children in harms way.”  This happens all the time.

Where should we stand on narcotics laws?  Can we find a better model for getting drugs out of our streets than an antequated “Just Say No” slogan that didnt’ work 25 years ago? 

~ by jmarchelewski on June 16, 2008.